The Rose Duelist: War Stories
by Seto's Princess
Summary: Prequel to The Rose Duelist... An ordinary summer day, ordinary annual tournament. I had no idea my life was going to change so drastically. I would be forced to experience the ravages of war. Rated for violence and language. CH 3 IS UP!
1. Introduction, The 14 Year Old Maki

"**The Rose Duelist: War Stories"**  
(Prequel to "The Rose Duelist")  
By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or the original storyline for "The Duelists of the Roses" for Playstation 2… However, I do own Maki Kaichi, Mr. Morosou Kaichi, Mrs. Yakima Kaichi, Mr. Ichiro Shuka, Mrs. Reiko Shuka, Rick Takinawa, Crystal Takinawa, Sujiro Mitsuki, a few other random names I made up, and this story.

Hello! I would like to start by giving thanks to all fans of "The Rose Duelist." It was the first story I had on this site, and although it had a rocky start, your support has helped it become a great story and almost as popular as my humor fics - notably "Life At My House" and "Leave A Message After The Beep." If it had not been for you readers out there, "The Rose Duelist" would not be progressing as well as it is. I recently found the _original_ copy of "The Rose Duelist," from when I had just started to write it last year. It was the first eight chapters, and as I read it, it amazed me how drastically I ended up changing it. My writing has really improved. The original version was so lame; Seto was quite OOC and Maki actually was a Mary Sue - she was even the best of friends with Yugi and Co. and had absolutely no problems, and that was just the first eight chapters! However, you all know by now, that Maki is NOT a Mary Sue. I gave her quite an interesting past and a fear of letting anyone become her friend. I could not have done it without your support and I am highly grateful for your loyalty to "The Rose Duelist."

Well, I will stop rambling now and let you read the prequel to "The Rose Duelist." It should not be more than 10 chapters long, but I cannot be entirely sure. I might suddenly have an idea strike me and then add it in, but for now, I do not think it will surpass 10 chapters. Enjoy and please let me know if you become confused by anything in this story.

Oopps, one more thing. I am sorry to keep babbling like this, but this last thing is important. I know that many of you have not played the game for Playstation 2, so you might be slightly confused as to what is going on. Do not worry; I will try to explain everything as best as I can. For those of you who have played the game, you will notice that I tweaked and twisted some things around. This story will be very different from the game even if it is based off it. I might insert a few notes to let you know where I made the changes. If I just confused you, here is the short version: I wrote this story based on a combination of three things. 1 - The actual storyline from the game minus the dueling rules, which are too complicated to understand unless you have played the game. 2 - Some research I did on the real 'wars of the roses' that really did occur in European history. As much as I hate history, I knew I had to do some research on the real-life event so my story would not be too farfetched after my tweaking. 3 - My own ideas, including the three very important scenes that give Maki her three scars. I hope I did not confuse you. If you need more or a better explanation, do not hesitate to e-mail me. I cannot stand a highly confused or upset reader.

Well, I will shut up now and let you get on to the story. Enjoy the prequel!

'_Words in italics and single quotation marks'_ are thoughts.

"_Words in italics and double" or no quotation marks _are dreams.

**Special note:** Domino City is NOT the setting in the beginning of this story. Also, Seto, Yugi, the rest of the gang, and a few other notable people will NOT appear in this story. This story occurs before "The Rose Duelist," so Maki never met them.

**Special Note 2: **This story will be written in **Maki's Point of View…**

**Chapter 1 – Introduction… The Fourteen-year-old Maki…**

"Simon! SIMON! Simon, where are you?" a frantic female voice cried out.

"I am here. Do not fret milady," another, calmer, older, male voice replied.

"Ah Simon, there you are! I have gathered up the red rose cards and the other duelists. We are ready to head for Stonehenge," the female voice said.

"Very well, let's be on our way. The sooner we summon the Rose Duelist, the sooner we can vanquish the wrath of Rosenkreuz!"

These two mysterious figures hid themselves underneath long cloaks, as did the seven other people that were with them. The cloaked figures left the castle, and headed off to Stonehenge, England.

…

A few days later… In the real world…

…

"_Well, well, Rick. This is the end for you, you stupid wanna-be. You may be known as the best male duelist here, but you are nothing compared to me. Face it, it's over. It's time for me to take revenge for what you did to me in third grade," I sneered and laughed sadistically._

"_Ha! You have to be kidding me! You're down to your last 200 life points! I'm a much better duelist than you'll ever be," Rick Takinawa retorted with a smirk._

_Oh, how I wanted to wipe that stupid smirk off his smug face._

"_THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE WRONG!" I screamed aloud as I played 'Monster Reborn'._

"_WHAT? NO!" Rick shouted and his eyes widened in horror._

"_I told you it was over," I said with my own pride-filled smirk, but just before I could revive the monster I wanted, a bright light engulfed everything._

…

"Maki… Maki dear, wake up… Maki," my mother said as she shook me awake.

"Wha? Oh, mom, give me ten more minutes," I groaned and turned over. It was typical for a fourteen-year-old. _'What did that dream mean? Darn it… Why did mom have to interrupt? That's the fourth time today. I still don't understand that dream. I've been having it every night for over a week already. What does it mean? Why can't I ever finish it? I always get to that last bit where I'm about to finish Rick off and all I see is a blinding light. Then… nothing. I just wake up.'_

"That's what you said ten minutes ago… and ten minutes before that, and ten minutes before that, and ten minutes before that" mom replied with a stern voice but with a smile nonetheless.

"Aw, mom…" I whined and buried myself even further under my covers. _'I want to finish that dream…'_

"Very well. I'll just let all the other duelists know that you aren't competing in this year's championship tournament because you wanted, and I quote, 'ten more minutes'," my mother replied jokingly.

"Wait… What?" I shouted and literally shot up from my bed.

"Don't tell me you forgot the town championship tournament was today?" my mom inquired.

"Hehe, oopps," I mumbled sheepishly.

My mother raised her eyebrow in amusement. "It's going to start in an hour, so I would get ready if I were you." With that, she left the room and closed the door behind her.

'_Oh darn… I can't believe I forgot that the tournament to decide this year's champion of Omihachiman City was today! Stupid dream… I haven't been able to think of anything else…' _(I just realized I never did mention where Maki originally lived before she moved to Domino. Since I really have no idea where Domino is, I just picked some random city in Japan as Maki's hometown- Omihachiman City. It does not actually matter anyway, so do not worry about it so much.) (November 2, 2005 – I did some research and found out that Shiga was a Prefecture, not a city. Japan is divided into Regions, which are divided into Prefectures and then into towns and cities. So Maki's hometown is Omihachiman City, not Shiga, as I wrote it before.)

I quickly jumped out of bed, took a shower, and then stood in front of my closet to decide what outfit to wear. I finally decided on a pair of black denim shorts with a matching black denim jacket, a white spaghetti-strapped tank top, and my favorite black and white sneakers. As for accessories, I put on a pair of black and white star earrings and, of course, my silver dueling belt that held my Duel Monsters Deck.

What I did not anticipate, however, is that this would be the last outfit I was going to wear before my life would take a complete turn.

"Ready to go Maki?" a voice asked once I had left my room.

"Dad! You're here!" I exclaimed excitedly and hugged my father.

"Of course I'm here. Did you think I'd miss my daughter's big day?" he asked playfully.

"But I thought you had to work today," I said and let go of my father's embrace.

"Ah, but you forget that my boss is a fan of Duel Monsters. He wanted to see the tournament, so he let everyone off," he explained.

"Well then, shall we go?" mom asked as she wandered in from the kitchen and embraced dad. I nodded and we left the house.

…

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here dear sister," a distinct seventeen-year-old male's voice said. "It's little Maki Kaichi, ready to get her butt kicked by a real duelist."

"Well, if it isn't Rick Takinawa, the scum of the earth. There's a real duelist here? Boy, I never thought that Maximillian Pegasus would enter a small rinky-dink town tournament. So, where is he? I don't see him anywhere," I said casually yet somewhat mockingly.

"My brother was talking about himself, you little wench," his younger, fourteen-year-old, sister and my ex-best friend, Crystal, shot back.

I mock-gasped. "Your brother is a real duelist? Shouldn't they have announced it on the news then?"

"How dare you speak about my brother like that? I can't believe I was _ever_ your friend," Crystal retorted.

"The feeling is mutual Crystal," I said.

"Listen to me you little bitch. You may have that little attitude of yours, but that won't be enough to beat me in a duel," Rick hissed.

"Rick Takinawa! Must you resort to such language? I should tell your mother," my mother warned.

"Well, I can't say your daughter is helping the situation much, Yakima," Rick's mother cut in.

"Excuse me?" mom asked, flabbergasted.

"My kids have tried to be nice. They have both apologized for what happened five years ago, but your daughter seems to be the only one who won't let it go," Mrs. Takinawa reprimanded.

"All the apologies in the world won't make up for what they did to me," I sneered.

"Well you certainly aren't making this situation any better Maki. I would adjust that attitude of yours. You'll never get any friends that way," Mrs. Takinawa chided.

"HA! Friends. Now that's a silly word," I scoffed, not backing down. I did not want friends; I did not need them.

"There she is! Maki!" a familiar voice called out. I turned to my right to see a young beaming couple – Mr. and Mrs. Shuka, friends of the family.

"Are you all ready to kick butt, Maki?" Mrs. Shuka asked.

"You know I always am, Mrs. Shuka," I replied playfully and the couple laughed. Mr. and Mrs. Shuka were not exactly my friends, they were more like acquaintances. As I mentioned before, I did not want any friends.

"Yes, Maki, you always are. Well, we'll be rooting for you!" Mr. Shuka exclaimed and he and his wife walked off to take their seats in the audience.

"Well then, it looks like the tournament is about to start. I would say 'good luck,' but that would be an understatement. You need more than luck to defeat me, Rick," I teased as he glared at me with utmost loathing.

After the incident in third grade, when Rick and his horde of dumb headed friends decided to butcher my hair, I took it upon my self to become a stronger person. I made sure never to trust anyone again. Crystal's betrayal taught me that no one in this world could be trusted. (Read "The Rose Duelist" Chapter 9 – Betrayal of a Friend to find out what happened to Maki in the third grade.)

I lost all the extra weight I had and my hair eventually grew up to my waist. I decided I wanted to let it grow longer than that. It would be a memory of the emotional scar that the Takinawa siblings left embedded in my soul.

In addition to improving myself physically, I developed a certain personality that drew attention from those I considered the "right" people and it drove away all the "losers," which included Rick and Crystal. I was known throughout town as the 'Ice Duelist' due to my cold personality. (Okay, I know Maki sounds snobby and most likely Mary-Sue-ish here, but please do not think she is. Think of it this way – she has a Seto-ish personality, okay?)

…

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Omihachiman City's annual Duel Monsters Tournament! I see some very familiar faces here as well as a few new ones. Is that…? Yes, it is! Our two-time reigning champion, Maki Kaichi!" the announcer shouted and a large jumble of both cheers and hisses swept through the crowd. "Will the young Miss Kaichi win our tournament for the third year in a row or will a new champ reign over Omihachiman?"

I smirked. _'Ha! No one can beat me… Omihachiman started hosting tournaments two years ago and I won both of them… From what I can see, there's not much of a challenge this year either…'_

"Now, let the Omihachiman City Championship Tournament begin!" the announcer said as the match-ups for the first round came on screen.

(By the way, Duel Monsters hologram programs did not exist yet, so they are just playing on the dueling mats placed on all the tables.)

…

"The winners of our first round are… Suki Ashiro, Toshiko Hashiga, Maki Kaichi, Ken Zhang, Rick Takinawa, Sujiro Mitsuki, Kuina Okomo, Junpei Miwa, Mark Miwa, Izuma Takenouchi, Daisuke Wong, Ai Mizutani, Umi Yamaguchi, Yamato Izumi, Taichi Kazuga, and Reki Fujita!" the announcer's voice blared over the speakerphone. The downtrodden duelists that lost blended themselves within the audience.

…

"Our second round winners are… Kuina Okomo, Daisuke Wong, Reki Fujita, Rick Takinawa, Sujiro Mitsuki, Suki Ashiro, Maki Kaichi, and Mark Miwa!" The losing duelists also joined the audience.

"Whoo! Go Rick!" a random girl shouted from the audience.

"We love you Rick!" another girl exclaimed. I rolled my eyes.

Yes, I had to admit, Rick was highly popular in our hometown, and he had his group of fans. They, of course, despised me. Most of his fans were female, however, and this was due to his looks. Although I hated the guy with every single ounce of my heart, he was not so bad to look at. He was a good six-foot tall with dazzling emerald eyes, dirty-blonde hair that was always styled in short spikes, and slightly tanned skin. His clothes were always in style; most of them were what skaters usually wear. Unfortunately, he always thought too highly of himself and he was the so-called "leader" of his group of friends. If people thought I was bad, then they had no idea who Rick was. Unbeknownst to everyone else, he and his best friend, Sujiro Mitsuki, always picked on defenseless quiet kids. Whenever I confronted them about it, they always claimed it was to "toughen the kid up." Rick had always been a complete jerk, despite the "innocent" façade he always put on for the adults.

Unlike Rick, I didn't put up some fake innocent mask. I honestly respected the few adults who knew me personally, except for Rick's parents, and the children that I defended from Rick looked up to me. Therefore, I did have my own group of fans, including the Shuka couple, the kids I defended, and even a few rival duelists who admired my dueling talents. I did not care much for the attention though and due to my cold personality, I had also attracted even more "haters," which included the Takinawa family, Rick's friends, and Rick's fans.

…

"The winners of round three are… Kuina Okomo, Rick Takinawa, Sujiro Mitsuki, and Maki Kaichi! We will now take a one-hour break before we announce the match-ups for the semifinals. Feel free to eat from our newly-built food court and you are allowed to leave the building if you wish," the announcer's voice sounded.

"You're doing much better this year, Sujiro," Rick said.

"Yeah! You couldn't make it to semifinals last year," Crystal added with a big smile. She had always had a crush on Sujiro. Like Rick, he was also six feet tall, but he had pristine light brown eyes and wild orange hair styled similarly to Rick's, but slightly longer.

"You may have gotten better, Sujiro, but you won't stand a chance if you get matched up with me. I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're my best friend," Rick boasted.

"Haha. Let's just hope I get matched with Kuina. The only reason she made it this far is because she was matched up with complete amateurs. She'll be a piece of cake," Sujiro stated and snapped his fingers as if to emphasize his point.

"What about Maki? You can't possibly be afraid of her," Crystal commented snottily.

"Listen, I know she's arrogant, but even you two have to admit Maki is an excellent duelist," Sujiro said.

"You're kidding me, right? I can duel circles around her!" Rick retorted.

"Sure you can… That's why she beat you in the semifinals last year and also why she beat you in the first round the year before that," Sujiro retorted. Crystal chuckled.

"Hey! You two are supposed to be on my side!" Rick accused.

"Sorry, man, but it's the solid truth. You may be the best male duelist, but Maki is the best overall in our town," Sujiro said.

"Well my brother has gotten a lot better. Who's to say he can't out duel her this year?" Crystal suggested.

"Ah, well. Let's just go eat something. My stomach was killing me all throughout my last duel," Sujiro commented. Crystal giggled flirtatiously and the three walked off towards the food court.

The building was built two years ago, when the town began hosting dueling tournaments. The building in itself was beautiful; it was about as wide as half a city block, the walls and floor were black marble, a glistening crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, and the door was one of those revolving ones. There were also large speakers in every corner for when official town tournaments were hosted. The whole place was like a duelist's dream - at the front, by the door, was a major card shop. There were two card shops, of course, one on either side next to the entrance. The entire right wall of the building was an accessory shop where you could buy dueling belts, card cases, protective covers, etc. They also sold Duel Monsters merchandise like clothes, stuffed toys, etc.

There were stands placed against the entire back wall where spectators could sit and watch the tournaments. A large TV screen hung over the door, also used for tournaments. The left wall was previously a card shop, but they recently turned it into a food court. The entire center of the building was filled with tables. These tables had two chairs to a table and dueling mats were meticulously placed on these tables. Overall, it was a good place to just hang out, buy cards, and improve your dueling skills.

…

"So, Maki, what do you say? Shall we eat something at the new food court?" my dad asked once he and my mom found me within the crowd of duelists and spectators.

"Ah…" I thought about it for a second. "No, I'd rather go to Mr. and Mrs. Shuka's restaurant. I bumped into them not too long ago and they said they were headed there in case anyone wanted to eat there. It will be much less crowded and the atmosphere there is nice. Besides, you know I've always thought that the three best cooks in the world are mom and the Shukas."

My father chuckled at my response. "I agree. It sounds like a good idea."

…

When we arrived at "Kokoro no Shuka," Mr. and Mrs. Shuka's restaurant, there were quite a few people there already. Even though the restaurant was small, like one of the small cafés you find on street corners and such, it was still quite popular. (Kokoro no Shuka means "Shuka's Heart" in Japanese. I figured since Mr. and Mrs. Shuka put their heart into their cooking, then that is what I would name the restaurant.)

I had always found the small restaurant quite comforting. Mr. and Mrs. Shuka were friends of my parents, even though they were quite young - in their mid-twenties.

The restaurant was new, so the floor was a sparkling white marble. The walls were maroon and had Mr. and Mrs. Shuka's cooking school diplomas placed meticulously on them as well as a calendar, a picture Mr. and Mrs. Shuka took with me when I won the town championship tournament last year, a wedding picture of the two, and another wedding picture of the two with me. They had just gotten married about five months ago and they had chosen me for their maid of honor. Mr. Shuka did not have many relatives and Mrs. Shuka's relatives could care less about her; they had disowned her when she decided to become a cook. Since Mr. and Mrs. Shuka were such good friends of my parents and I was their favorite duelist, they chose me for the position of maid of honor, even though I was only thirteen at the time. About a month and a half after their wedding, they bought an empty building, fixed it up with the help of my parents, and opened up their own restaurant.

"Ichiro! Hurry up with order number three! It shouldn't take you _that _long!" Mrs. Shuka called out towards the kitchen in the back.

"I'm almost finished! Don't get your shorts in a knot!" Mr. Shuka called back. Mrs. Shuka rolled her eyes and I chuckled at the sight. Even though they loved each other very much, they were always at each other's necks when it came to pleasing their customers. It was quite amusing to watch.

"Ah, it's the Kaichis!" Mrs. Shuka exclaimed once she finally noticed that we had walked in.

"Konnichiwa, Reiko!" my mother greeted.

"Great job in the first three rounds, Maki. Of course, I wouldn't expect any less from you," Mrs. Shuka stated matter-of-factly.

"Thanks. My last two duels will be easy as well. Kuina and Sujiro are fairly easy and we all know I can kick Rick's butt, no problem," I said proudly.

Mr. Shuka chuckled as he came in from the kitchen with a plate of food, apparently "order number three." "Yes, that Takinawa boy never could beat you in a duel," he commented as he served the food to a young man at a nearby table, "I never did like the whole Takinawa family. The father if always off on some business trip. Then, when he is around, he's always gloating about and thinking that he's better than everyone else is. The mother thinks she's so high and mighty and that her kids are little angels."

"Of course, they aren't," Mrs. Shuka cut in, "Rick is a nasty little punk, and I can't say his sister is any sweet princess, although she does act like a royal pain."

I nodded in agreement and my parents soon did the same.

"But I digress… What would you three like?" Mrs. Shuka asked.

…

Simon McMooran and the eight duelists with him reached Stonehenge. They were in enemy territory, so it was certainly dangerous, but they had a mission. They _needed_ to summon the Rose Duelist, for the legendary duelist is the sole person who could help them defeat the Yorkists.

"We've finally made it. Now, Lady Mai, everyone here is aware of the plan, am I correct?" a male voice asked.

"Yes Simon. The instant the Rose Duelist arrives, we each take a red rose card and disperse in different directions," a female voice replied. The two figures were in the middle of Stonehenge, England, along with seven other cloaked figures.

"Very well," the male voice replied as he took eight cards with red roses printed on them and arranged them in a circle.

Meanwhile, a shadow lurked nearby, watching every move of the nine people gathered around the circle of red rose cards.

'_So they're planning on summoning the legendary Rose Duelist… Well, this should prove interesting…'_ he thought.

…

"I'm going to the park. Don't wait for me," I said to my parents once we had finished eating.

"Okay Maki, but don't be late," my mother called after me. I waved goodbye and headed to the park.

The day was beautiful; there was not a cloud in the sky. Even though it was a bright summer day, a soft breeze was blowing.

As usual, I walked straight towards the swings when I made it to the park. It had always been my favorite place, my thinking place, my comfort zone; it had been ever since the "hair butchering" incident five years ago.

…**Flashback…**

"Maki, would you like to go get your hair fixed now?" my mother asked cautiously. We were driving along the road after a long tear-filled visit to the guidance counselor's office. My father left work early to find out what had happened since the guidance counselor had been vague on the details when she called him. The guidance counselor also called in Crystal's parents as well as her older brother, upon Crystal's request.

After a very long explanation, because neither Crystal nor I could stop crying, they finally understood what happened. Of course, they forced me to explain, so I kept choking out my words and I clutched my star plushy as if my life depended on it. We may have been nine-years-old at the time, but Crystal and I were deeply upset, albeit I was more upset than she was. The guidance counselor called in the other boys who had been in on the act, and after handing them each harsh punishments, dismissed them without another word. Mrs. Takinawa scolded Rick half-heartedly and did not even say a word to Crystal. Mr. Takinawa remained quiet throughout the whole ordeal. The actions of the parents did not make me feel any better, in fact, I felt worse knowing that Rick and Crystal would not receive their comeuppance.

By the time we were finished, school had already let out and it was past 4:00 PM. After the hours of crying, my eyes were tired and droopy. I climbed into my parent's car quietly, too tired to say anything, barely making a sound except for the occasional sniffle.

"Maki, did you hear me?" my mother asked. She sat with me in the backseat in an attempt to comfort me.

"What?" I asked and looked up. My mother looked at my tear-stained face with sympathy.

"Would you like to go get your hair fixed right now?" my mother repeated. It took a while for her words to sink in, I was not thinking properly at the time. I shrugged, unsure of anything that I wanted. My father seemed to notice my action in the car mirror and he suggested the park instead. I looked up, confused. It was an odd suggestion in my opinion.

"What did you say, daddy?"

"How about the park instead?" he asked. I looked up at my mother as if to receive a conformation from her and she replied with a nod.

"Yes please," I uttered with a tiny smile and a glint of eagerness in my eyes. My father nodded and we were off to the park.

I spent the whole day there, playing on the swings. Thankfully, it was a Friday, so my parents were able to take me to the hair salon the next day to fix up the uneven sides of my so-called "haircut."

…**End Flashback…**

The playground was as full of kids as any other day, yet there were two empty swings, for which I was grateful. I took an empty swing and gently swayed back and forth. I was not at all looking forward to what happened next. Crystal came up from behind and took the empty swing next to me.

"Hey there, Maki." She said it so casually as if we had been the best of friends. I glared at her through my bangs, so I'm sure she did not notice.

"What do _you_ want?" I hissed.

A sigh escaped her lips as she contemplated what to say next. "Listen Maki, um… Since I finally got you here without my brother or Sujiro around, I just wanted to talk."

"What is that supposed mean?" I asked and knit my eyebrows together in confusion.

Another sigh, she did it often. "No offense to my big brother, I love him to death and all, but he's always been a big jerk. Maki… we were really good friends once…"

"Once… That was years ago, over and done with…" I interrupted.

"Yes, well, I know you're not a jerk like my brother, so why are you acting like this? You act as if you hate the world, as if everyone is your enemy. Really, Maki, what can I do to apologize for what happened five years ago? I'd like to give our friendship a second try."

"You'd like to give our so-called friendship a second try… and it took you, what, five years to say this to me? You're more pathetic than I thought, Crystal. If you really _did_ want a second chance, you wouldn't be supporting your brother every time he tried to annoy me with his stupid comments."

"Maki, I…"

"Leave it Crystal. I will _never_ forgive you for what you and your brother did to me, so just forget it and leave me alone." I stood up and began walking off towards the dueling building. However, just as I was a few feet away, a searing pain coursed through my head.

"AGH!" I cried out in pain and fell to my knees, holding my head. Crystal rushed to my side and tried to touch my head but I slapped her hand away. "Don't touch me!" As soon as the pain had come, it went away. I stood up slowly, just to be careful, and continued walking away; ignoring the questioning look that Crystal gave me.

…

"Welcome back folks! Here are the match-ups for the semi-finals!" the announcer exclaimed as the TV screen over the door lit up to show who would duel who. "It looks like Rick Takinawa will duel Kuina Okomo and Sujiro Mitsuki will duel Maki Kaichi!"

"Oh man," Sujiro whined, uncharacteristically for a seventeen-year-old, as he took his seat across from me. I smirked and glanced to my right to see Rick with a bored expression on his face, shuffling Kuina's deck. Kuina, on the other hand, looked ecstatic and could not wait to duel the best male duelist in town, even though it was highly possible that she would lose. I turned back to face Sujiro and we took each other's decks to shuffle them.

…

"And the winners are… Rick Takinawa and Maki Kaichi!"

Excited screams filled the audience as we shook hands with our opponents and then the two losing duelists made their way to sit in the crowd.

"This is it, the final match of our tournament! Rick Takinawa will face Maki Kaichi for this year's Omihachiman City Championship title!" More cheers filled the audience as Rick and I shook hands, as was always custom before a duel, and took our seats opposite each other.

Various girlish squeals filled the audience along with a sequence of cheers.

"GO RICK! WE LOVE YOU!"

"You can beat her Rick!"

"Kick that Kaichi's butt!"

"RICK! RICK! RICK!"

Of course, that was also the occasional cheers for me, "GO MAKI!" and, "THREE YEARS IN A ROW, YOU CAN DO IT!"

"Are you ready to lose, Maki?" Rick asked snottily.

"Lose? To you? Ha! This duel will be a piece of cake," I said as I drew my five cards.

"That's what you think Maki, but I've gotten better," he stated casually as he drew his five cards.

"So have I," I retorted.

"Well then…"

"Let's duel!" we exclaimed at the same time and the duel began.

At precisely that moment, another searing jolt of pain shot through my head. My head felt as if it were being split in two.

"AARRGGHH!" I screamed and held my head with the hand that wasn't holding my five cards as the pain lingered slightly longer than the last time. I shuddered from the pain, closed my eyes tightly, and my breathing became heavy.

The audience hushed and stared at me with confused expressions on their faces. Even Rick gave me an incredulous look. My parents and the Shukas seemed worried and they stood up in case anything should have happened.

"Miss Kaichi, are you alright?" the announcer/referee asked me.

About three minutes after the pain started, it went away without a single trace. I lowered my hand, my breathing returned to normal, and my eyes fluttered open.

"Miss Kaichi?" the announcer quipped.

"Maki! Are you alright?" my mother asked worriedly from the stands.

I looked up and around me; everyone was staring at me intently. Crystal looked the most worried. After all, she had witnessed the same thing before in the park.

I nodded at my mother and turned back to the announcer. "Yes, I'm fine."

"Very well," he replied, "Let the duel begin!"

…

"Oh, please work! We need the Rose Duelist _now_!" the cloaked man standing in front of the circle of red rose cards, Simon McMooran, cried in despair as he tried chanting the summoning spell for the third time.

The sky was a deep purple. It must have been midnight; the sky was so dark. Finally, something sparked from the red rose cards and the sky began to swirl in different shades of blue and purple. The eight duelists stood watching in awe as the wise old man standing in front of the red rose cards continued chanting the summoning spell.

The shadow that lurked nearby watched intently, waiting for the moment the Rose Duelist appeared to show himself. _'Hurry up, old man; I don't have all day… You are such a fool, Simon McMooran! First I'll convince the Rose Duelist to join my side and then I'll take your red rose cards!'_

…

"Well, well, Rick. This is the end for you, you stupid wanna-be. You may be known as the best male duelist here, but you are nothing compared to me. Face it, it's over. It's time for me to take revenge for what you did to me in third grade," I sneered and laughed sadistically.

"Ha! You have to be kidding me! You're down to your last 200 life points! I'm a much better duelist than you'll ever be," Rick Takinawa retorted with a smirk.

Oh, how I wanted to wipe that stupid smirk off his smug face.

"THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE WRONG!" I screamed aloud as I played 'Monster Reborn'.

"WHAT? NO!" Rick shouted and his eyes widened in horror.

'_Wait a minute… Isn't this what happened in my dream? This is _exactly_ what happened in my dream, word for word, move for move. How can this be? What about that bright light? Am I going to see it now? Well, there's only one way to find out…'_

"I told you it was over," I said with my own pride-filled smirk, but before I could summon the monster I wanted to finish Rick, a bright light engulfed everything.

'_This is it… Now what?' _I wondered, closing my eyes to shield them from the luminosity. I could not see and had no idea of what was to come.

Then, another sharp pain coursed not only through my head, but through my entire body. I felt as though something was ripping my body apart. I tried to scream, but no sound came out.

…

Brilliant light burst from the red rose cards as the summoning reached its end. Lighting burst from the dark swirling sky. With a roar of thunder, one final jolt of lighting crashed down from the sky creating a swirl of smoke on the ground. The sky stopped swirling. Simon McMooran finished the spell and the smoke receded… In one swift movement, the eight duelists each took a red rose card and fled the scene, unnoticed by the shadowy figure lurking nearby.

…

After about a minute or so, the pain stopped and the light returned to normal. I slowly opened my eyes. What I saw surprised me to no end. It was nighttime, so I had to adjust my vision to look around. I was in a large open space, with a magnificent array of gigantesque stones arranged in a wide circle. It looked oddly familiar, like something from out of a textbook. I racked my brain for some kind of answer, and it hit me - I was in Stonehenge, England.

"Oooooh!" a voice disrupted my thoughts. "…Summoned from the mystic circle of red and white roses, the one capable of harnessing pure power! There _is_ truth to the legend of the Rose Duelist!" an old man, covered in cream-colored robes and a tall hat adorned with gold exclaimed. "But wait… The legendary Rose Duelist… is a young _girl_?" he asked, flabbergasted.

**TBC…**

I was debating with myself **when** to write this story. I wasn't sure whether to wait until "The Rose Duelist" was over to write this and post it alongside the sequel, or to post it now. I finally decided that it was best to start posting this now. "The Rose Duelist" is now on chapter 18 and Maki's life is really going to start becoming complicated. I thought it would be easier for both you and me if I wrote the prequel **now** rather than wait for later. This way, you can finally come out of the dark about Maki's past and finally find out what happened to her in the three years that she disappeared. Also, it helps me because my original plan had been to wait until after the Rose Tournament was over and have Maki finally explain her past to either Seto, or Yugi and his friends, or both. However, by posting the prequel now, I won't have to go through that and you won't have to wait so long for me to reveal Maki's past.

One more thing… I am so sorry I haven't been able to update _any_ of my other stories. School started about a week ago for me, and they're _already_ piling homework on me like there's no tomorrow. I decided to _at least_ treat my "Rose Duelist" fans and post this… I can't guarantee that the next chapter will be up soon, though… I am so sorry for this. Darn school. I hoped you liked this first chapter though. It is a nice 10 pages long. Ja-ne!


	2. The Legend Begins

"**The Rose Duelist: War Stories"**  
(Prequel to "The Rose Duelist")  
By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or the original storyline for "The Duelists of the Roses" for Playstation 2… However, I do own Maki Kaichi, Mr. Morosou Kaichi, Mrs. Yakima Kaichi, Mr. Ichiro Shuka, Mrs. Reiko Shuka, Rick Takinawa, Crystal Takinawa, Sujiro Mitsuki, a few other random names I made up, and this story.

Wow! 14 reviews for the first chapter! That is MANY more than "The Rose Duelist" had when it first came out. Of course, "The Rose Duelist" was not that well known back then. Anyway, thank you so much! I managed to squeeze out another chapter so here is chapter two! I hope you like it! Yay!

'_Words in italics and single quotation marks'_ are thoughts.

"_Words in italics and double" or no quotation marks _are dreams.

**Special note:** Domino City is NOT the setting in the beginning of this story. Also, Seto, Yugi, the rest of the gang, and a few other notable people will NOT appear in this story. This story occurs before "The Rose Duelist," so Maki never met them.

**Special Note 2: **This story will be written in **Maki's Point of View…**

**Chapter 2 – The Legend Begins…**

_The British Empire in the 1480s..._

_The Wars of the Roses, a power struggle between the Houses of Lancaster (The Red Rose) and York (The White Rose) to decide a royal successor, was nearing an end._

_With the Yorkists well in the lead, the reign of Richard III was but a step away. And in France, Henry 'Yugi' Tudor -the last Lancastrian heir- was being forced to live a life of exile. _

_The Lancastrian forces were rendered powerless by ancient cards of sorcery wielded by 'Seto' Rosenkreuz, and his seven followers who, known as the 'Rose Crusaders,' served under the flag of Lord Crawford, a powerful Yorkist nobleman._

_Lacking a duelist to champion their cause, defeat was imminent for the Lancastrians. In England, duel card games were still at the fledgling stage. Thus, the Lancastrians had to look elsewhere for a duel master capable of facing the Rose Crusaders in battle._

_With this in mind, Margaret 'Mai' Beaufort of Lancaster secretly requested a High Druid to summon a duelist from another age..._

"Oooooh!" a voice disrupted my thoughts. "…summon from the mystic circle of red and white roses, the one capable of harnessing pure power! There _is_ truth to the legend of the Rose Duelist!" an old man, covered in cream-colored robes and a tall hat adorned with gold exclaimed. "But wait… The legendary Rose Duelist… is a young _girl_?" he asked, flabbergasted.

I blinked in confusion, simply dumbfounded by this man, by his words, by my surroundings, by everything!

"Oh, what am I saying? What does it matter that you are a girl? You are 'The Rose Duelist,' and that is that. L-Lady Mai! I… I did it! Now we have the means for defeating the evil forces of Rosenkreuz!" the man exclaimed in excitement. His body was quaking with a sense of utter joy. I remained quiet, still in complete shock. I still had no idea why I was standing in the center of Stonehenge with a strange old man who seemed ecstatic to be in my presence.

"Oh! My apologies!" he sputtered, his crystal blue eyes widening as he looked me up and down. I assumed he had never seen my style of clothing, seeing as he was wearing an odd cream-colored robe with gold ornaments on his tall hat. He was not any taller than 4'7". His whole body was covered by the robes, a simple opening for his eyes revealed the crystal blue orbs, but nothing else.

"In my excitement, I'd forgotten I was in the presence of the Rose Duelist," he continued, raising his eyes to stare at my own. His eyes shrunk slightly and he seemed somewhat intimidated… by me?

"Allow me to introduce myself," the short old man said and cleared his throat. "I am Simon McMooran, High Druid and servant of Lancaster. May I be so bold as to ask the name by which the Rose Duelist would like to be known?"

I still could not speak as I tried to take in my surroundings. A sudden chill went up my spine; I felt as though someone was watching us. Oh, how right I was.

'_So that is the legendary Rose Duelist? But… she is… a _girl_! Hmm… This could work to my advantage…'_ thought the shadowy figure standing nearby.

…

"What's going on?" cried my mother as she frantically tried to catch a glimpse of anything, but it was too bright. No one could see a thing. Soon, the light faded, the audience hushed, and everything was back to normal, that is, except for my sudden disappearance.

"Hey, where'd Maki go?" Rick broke the silence and the announcer looked down at my empty seat with a questioning look. The audience all turned in an odd robotic movement to look at the seat I had previously occupied. Most of the people gasped, surprised that I was no longer there.

"Maki?" Crystal wondered aloud.

"MAKI!" my mother cried as she stumbled down the stands to rush to the dueling table.

"Where could she be?" someone asked.

"Did she disappear?" another voice asked.

The announcer finally realized the severity of the situation and called in security. "Search the building!" he commanded and the security guards dispersed themselves to look for me.

"Hey look, her cards are gone too," Sujiro pointed out from the audience.

"Yeah, you're right, Sujiro! Does this mean I win the tournament?" Rick asked expectantly, as if nothing had even happened.

"Maki just disappeared out of nowhere and all you're worrying about is this stupid tournament?" Mrs. Shuka scolded loudly from the audience. Those few fans of mine took it upon themselves to hiss and boo at Rick. My mother actually hit him with her purse.

"OW! What do you have in that purse… rocks?" Rick cried out in pain. My mother ignored his comment and whacked him with her purse again.

"How _dare_ you say something like that? For all we know, Maki could've just gotten kidnapped and you have the _nerve_ to say you beat her in that duel!" my mother yelled, her voice rising almost a whole octave as she tried her best to remain calm.

"Mrs. Kaichi, please calm down. We're searching for your daughter as we speak. She couldn't have gone far," the announcer tried to assure my mother, but she remained upset.

My father stood by my mother's side and wrapped his arms around her. "We'll find her, Yakima. We _will_ find her."

"I hope so, Morosou," my mother muttered as a tear rolled down her cheek.

…

"My… my name? I…" I trailed off as I stared into his crystal blue orbs, trying to receive some clue of what was going on.

"Yes my dear? What is your name?" Simon McMooran asked me again.

"Maki… Maki Kaichi," I replied, trying hard not to reveal the nervousness I was feeling at the moment.

"…Maki? A fine name indeed! Now, here's the situation. The year is 1482, and you are currently in Stonehenge, near Salisbury, England. The British Empire is in turmoil with the House of Lancaster's rightful claim to the throne being challenged by Yorkist usurpers," Simon explained. (Here is one of the small details I changed. In the game, The Rose Duelist is summoned to the year 1485… However, since I wanted Maki to spend three years there instead of just a few months, I had to change the year to 1482.)

"1482?" I inquired, utterly confused. _'Did he just say 1482? I'm in the year 1482?'_

"Yes dear duelist. It is the year 1482. Perhaps I should also inform you that you are in another world as well," Simon squeaked, unsure of what my response would be. (This is another one of my twists. In the game, you're just sent back in time. However, in this story Maki is not only summoned to another time, but also to another **dimension**. It really is not that important to this story, but it will important for the sequel.)

"Another world?" I asked, my eyes widening to the size of saucers.

"Yes. I am terribly sorry for taking you away from your home, but we need you, my dear duelist," Simon apologized with a sympathetic look in his eyes. (I also added some extra dialogue here for Simon McMooran, if anyone who has played the game has noticed.)

"Moving on, the power struggle is referred to as the Wars of the Roses, a name based on the badges used by both sides- a red rose for the Lancastrians, and a white rose for the Yorkists. Right now, our kingdom is threatened by the Yorkists and their wrongful claim to the throne! All because the Yorkists enjoy the support of the Rose Crusaders and their sorcerous White Rose Cards. Using our Red Rose Cards, we summoned you, Lady Maki, to this time and dimension. We hoped that your dueling experience would defeat the Rose Crusaders and lead us to victory!"

I remained silent throughout his explanation. _'They need me… to defeat some group called 'The Rose Crusaders?' I don't understand any of this! Wait… When can I go home? Can I _ever_ go home?' _My eyes widened as I finally realized that I was no longer at home, that I might not see my parents again for a while.

"We hoped that your dueling experience would defeat the Rose Crusaders and lead us to victory!" he exclaimed with a hopeful glint in his eyes.

'_My dueling experience? Well, I know I'm a great duelist in my hometown… but that's just my hometown! What about someone like Maximillian Pegasus, the CREATOR of the game? Wouldn't he be a much better candidate for something as big as a… Wait a minute… WAR? There's a _WAR_ going on? I'm supposed to STOP this war? How? This makes no sense!'_

"You will help us...?" he asked, glancing up at me with hope. He did not even give me a chance to respond as he said, "Of course, you will! Foolish of me to even doubt where your loyalties lie… Rumor has it that only the legendary Rose Duelist stands a chance against the power of Rosenkreuz! We appreciate any help you can provide against them."

(Here is another change I'm making. This one is very noticeable to anyone who has played the game. I am completely cutting out Simon McMooran's explanation on dueling. For those of you who have _not_ played the game, Simon just tells you about "the perfect rule." In the game, the dueling style is quite like chess; you move the cards around on a playing field. I decided to get rid of "the perfect rule" altogether, so you will never see it in this story.)

"One more thing before we head off to see Prince Yugi… Do you have a dueling deck?" Simon asked me. I blinked.

'_A deck… MY DECK!'_ My hand flew to the card case attached to my dueling belt. I opened it hastily and was relieved to find my cards there. I pulled them out and quickly looked through them, making sure I was not missing any. They were all there, as if my duel with Rick had never begun. Under any other circumstances, knowing that Rick would win the town championship tournament on a technicality would have bothered me to no end, but I now had more important things to worry about – going home as soon as possible and trying to survive whatever was about to come. I put my deck back in its case and nodded to Simon. Although I could not see it under his heavy cloak, his eyes showed me he was smiling.

Suddenly, a shiver ran down my spine. I looked up, away from Simon McMooran's gaze and saw a dark figure peer out from behind one of the great stones of Stonehenge.

"Hmmm… So that's the effect of the Celtic Red Rose Cards… It looks like there's some truth to the rumor that the Red Rose Cards are capable of time transformation…" the figure spoke. Unlike Simon McMooran, his voice was young and intimidating.

"Who's there?" Simon demanded, looking around him desperately to find the source of the voice.

"It's been some time since the Battle of Barnet, old one..." the voice said as its owner emerged from behind the oversized stone. He was quite handsome. The moonlight glistened off his oddly shaped silver armor like a cluster of stars. He was a few inches taller than I was, with silky brunette hair, and deep blue eyes. He could not have been much older than me, so my guess was he was anywhere between fourteen and sixteen years old. His armor was surely something that caught my interest – it was shaped like a Blue Eyes White Dragon! How I longed to own one of those cards. Unfortunately, there were only four in existence, as every duelist knew, and so far, they had not been found. The rest of his clothes were a dark green color and a cape was attached to the back of his armor.

"Rosenkreuz! What brings you here?" Simon exclaimed; the small bit of his face that I could see under his cloak turned a slight red.

"Only a member of the Rose Crusaders may call me by that name," the young man retorted coldly as he glared at the short old man. "If you recall, I told you once before that you may only address me as 'Seto.' Or does memory fail you, old man?" (For anyone that has not played the game, Seto really does tell Simon to call him "Seto.")

McMooran made some sort of snarl and glared back at the tall young boy.

"And you," the young man said as turned to me and looked me up and down with the same analyzing eyes that Simon had. "You must be the Rose Duelist. I must admit there's a certain aura of power emanating from you," he said as he glanced over me again. "I believe an introduction is in order. I am Seto, leader of the Rose Crusaders. There are members of our little group that prefer to call me by the name of Rosenkreuz." (Here is another thing I changed. In the game, Seto's name is Seto C. Rosenkreuz. I think the "C." was supposed to stand for "Christian." However, I'm changing his name to Seto _Kaiba_ Rosenkreuz. Otherwise, when Maki returns home in "The Rose Duelist," she wouldn't have been so shocked to hear the name "Seto Kaiba.")

"It's an honor to meet you," he said as he took my hand, gently pressed his lips against it, and then lifted his gaze to meet my own. My cheeks burned with a slight reddish glow.

Our eyes met his for the first time and I was immediately entranced, transfixed, lost in the deep midnight blue of his eyes. Those blue orbs of his were fascinating. I had never seen such beautiful eyes before.

Simon McMooran fumed with anger as he saw my blush. He certainly was not happy about Seto's attempts at romancing me. That was another thing that Seto had to his advantage - he could easily charm any female and win her over.

…

After searching for about half an hour, security decided to broaden the search and they actually brought in the police.

"Please find her! She's our only child!" my mother cried, tears streaming down her face. My father held her even tighter.

"We'll do everything we can, Mrs. Kaichi," a police sergeant assured her.

"I'm sure we'll find her, Yakima," Mrs. Shuka said sympathetically.

"I sure hope so, Reiko," Mr. Shuka added.

…

"I ask you again…" Simon cut in and forced me to break my eye contact with Seto, "What brings you here, Seto?"

Seto turned back to look at Simon McMooran. "Mind your manners, old man! What else would bring me here… I've come for the Red Rose Cards! After all, it is you who showed me how the summoning capabilities would evolve when the Red Rose Cards are combined with the transport powers of the White Rose Cards." (Take note that this is Seto **Rosenkreuz**, not Seto Kaiba.)

"You aren't thinking of attempting the forbidden 'Rose Summoning'… If so, then the Red Rose Cards must never fall into your evil hands! Card Sorcery taps into the powers of the Ancient Ones... By their very nature, each card is a double-edged sword that can cut both ways… The Rose Cards alone harness tremendous power. There's no telling what horrors one might unleash to the world by combining both Red and White. I will sacrifice my own life if need be to prevent any from uttering the 'Spell of Doom'!" Simon exclaimed.

'_Spell of… Doom? What is _that_ supposed to mean?'_

"The Spell of Doom…? Fool! The sixteen Red and White Rose Cards grant 'power over all!' Druid legend has twisted the true meaning of these cards!" Seto scoffed, apparently disgusted by even Simon McMooran's presence. "We Rose Crusaders have sworn to create a utopia free from the ravages of war. We intend to accomplish this with the power of the cards! And we shall do so by extending the rule of Richard III throughout the known world!"

Simon remained speechless; he did nothing but glare at the younger, albeit much stronger man.

Seto smirked and continued, "By the way, it was clever of you to form a circle of red roses within the white rose barrier to summon the Duelist… But you were foolish to come alone. This area is surrounded, and if you wish to leave with your life, you will do so only by handing over the Red Rose Cards."

"Me? A fool…?" Simon spat sarcastically. "Then what about you? Are you fool enough to actually believe the Red Rose Cards would remain here in my possession? Right after the summoning, I had the cards dispersed among our best duelists to keep them from your tainted hands!"

Seto scowled, but he soon replaced it with a smirk as he glanced at me again. My cheeks slightly flushed again as I felt his gaze on me.

"Then you leave me with but one option… I shall enlist the aid of your precious Rose Duelist!" Seto declared.

Simon gave him a sarcastic look. "You take leave of your senses…"

"And you speak too soon, old man!" Seto retorted. "Heed my words, Duelist!" he called out as he turned to me, "If you wish to return to your proper world, you will require sixteen cards of the Red and White Roses... The Red and White positions must be laid out in reverse of the summoning order to send you home…"

"You know the spell..?" Simon sputtered and his eyes widened intensively.

"Since you need the sixteen Rose Cards as much as we do…" Seto continued, ignoring Simon's question, "I propose a partnership. Help us gather the cards, and I shall guarantee your return after we've achieved our ultimate goal!"

I did not even have a chance to respond, as Simon interrupted.

"An absurd proposal!" Simon shouted, his anger flaring up tenfold, "Do you think the honorable Rose Duelist would even lend an ear to your ridiculous proposal?"

"Can you be so sure, old man?" Seto asked and turned to me once again. "Let me see... Simon's side has eight of the Red Rose Cards, while my side - the Rose Crusaders - has possession of the eight White Rose Cards. As the numbers are even, simple arithmetic indicates that you should side with either of us. But I'm sure you'll take into account who's winning this war. After all, who was desperate enough to summon you in the first place? I think it's quite clear which side is better-positioned to send you home…" I took in all his words, my eyes fixed on his.

"L-Lady Maki! Heed not the words of this... this power-hungry lunatic!" Simon shouted as he looked up at me with desperation in his voice.

"Simon," Seto exclaimed almost as if he was scolding Simon, "must you resort to name-calling? I'm hurt." He faked a pout and I actually giggled at the sight. Simon's eyes widened as he saw my response. _'No! How could the Rose Duelist possibly fall for Rosenkreuz's boyish antics?' _he thought.

Seto smirked and continued, "I'll tell you what. Why don't we leave the decision to our dear Duelist? After all, Simon, the Duelist's future is not for us to decide, now is it?" His deep blue eyes met my sapphire ones again and I gasped for breath. I felt as if he was looking into my very soul.

"Well, yes, but..." Simon began, but Seto interrupted as he walked off to a nearby rose shrub and plucked two different-colored roses.

"Splendid! In keeping with the old tradition of the Old Temple gardens, I offer you a choice, Duelist. Here are two roses," Seto said as he held out a white rose and a red one. "The white rose represents me and the red for old Simon here…"

"For the sake of justice… Choose the red rose!" Simon pleaded, and if it was not for the fact that he would lose his dignity, he would have gone down on hands and knees.

"Stand by my side, Duelist… Choose the white rose," Seto requested.

'_What should I do? I still have no idea where I am _exactly_ or why I'm even here!'_ I thought. I did know that I was in Stonehenge, but in another dimension? It did not make any sense. I looked up and searched Seto's eyes for some kind of answer._ 'Wow… His eyes are so amazing… Oh, what am I saying? I don't know what to do! I'm supposed to be some legendary duelist that can end this war? I guess I'll join… Seto Kaiba Rosenkreuz…'_

I smirked, took both roses, and looked at them. After a slight moment of silence, I tossed the red one aside, slipped the white one behind my ear, and took a step closer beside Seto. Simon eyes widened tenfold; he realized what my choice had been. Of course, at that point in time I was not completely aware of my situation and I had no idea of what the future would have in store for me. I sometimes wonder how my life would be different if I had chosen Simon's side instead.

Seto seemed slightly surprised by my choice, but his surprised expression was quickly replaced by a smirk. "A wise choice, Duelist! I see you are well versed in judging a situation. Welcome to the Rose Crusaders! I am honored," he said with a bow, and he once again took my hand and kissed it. I felt a rush of blood in my cheeks, but I looked up at him and smiled nonetheless. _'I certainly _hope_ I made the right choice…'_

"Okay, old man," Seto said and faced Simon McMooran, "It's time you made yourself scarce."

"Wha...? What are you doing" Simon asked, fear apparent in his eyes. He was suddenly by two soldiers with the insignia of the Yorkists's White Rose on their armor.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. I just need you out of the way until everything is settled," Seto explained as the two soldiers dragged the High Druid away into the darkness.

"STOP! Nooooo!" Simon's voice faded as he was dragged away.

"Now," Seto began as he turned to face me once again, "why don't we go to the palace and we can discuss things there. I'll introduce you to the other Rose Crusaders and we need to talk about the Red Rose Cards."

"Sure… Seto," I replied, unsure of what name to call him by.

"Call me Rosenkreuz. You are a Rose Crusader now, and only they are allowed to call me Rosenkreuz, so you could consider it an honor," he said with a smirk.

My cheeks pinked and I nodded. "Yes… Rosenkreuz."

"That's better. Now, you'll have to forgive me, Miss…"

"Maki… Maki Kaichi."

"You'll have to forgive me, Miss Maki, I was not expecting you, and so I don't have a horse for you. You won't mind riding on mine?"

"I… No, of course not," I replied and he nodded.

"Wait here," he commanded and left for a minute or so. He returned with a beautiful white stallion. I had never seen a horse up close before much less ride one, so I stared at it for quite a bit, trying to figure out how to get on.

Seto seemed to notice my predicament and he chuckled slightly. I frowned, placed my left foot on the stirrup and tried to mount the horse, but failed miserably and fell back. Before I could hit the ground though, Seto caught me.

"Need help?" he asked with another chuckle. Not only were his eyes amazing, but his voice was endearing as well.

He did not wait for an answer as he hoisted me up and then mounted himself behind me.

"Comfortable?" he asked. I nodded, my cheeks flushing a bright red as I realized how close our bodies were, but of course, he did not see it.

He snaked his arms around my waist, grabbed the reigns, and pulled them over my head so he would be in control of the horse.

"Hold on," he muttered and ordered the horse to go and we rode off into the dark cloudless night.

**TBC…**

Well now, we've all been introduced to Seto Kaiba Rosenkreuz now. Maki has joined the Rose Crusaders. Who are they? Who will Maki have to battle in this war? What will happen in HER world now that she has disappeared? Find out on the next "The Rose Duelist: War Stories!"


	3. The Rose Crusaders

"**The Rose Duelist: War Stories"**  
(Prequel to "The Rose Duelist")  
By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or the original storyline for "The Duelists of the Roses" for Playstation 2… However, I do own Maki Kaichi, Mr. Morosou Kaichi, Mrs. Yakima Kaichi, Mr. Ichiro Shuka, Mrs. Reiko Shuka, Rick Takinawa, Crystal Takinawa, Sujiro Mitsuki, a few other random names I made up, and this story.

I wanted to post this before I posted the next chapter of The Rose Duelist. Anyway, I hope you like it. You get to meet all the Rose Crusaders in this chapter! Yay!

'_Words in italics and single quotation marks'_ are thoughts.

"_Words in italics and double" or no quotation marks _are dreams.

**Special note:** Domino City is NOT the setting in the beginning of this story. Also, Seto, Yugi, the rest of the gang, and a few other notable people will NOT appear in this story. This story occurs before "The Rose Duelist," so Maki never met them.

**Special Note 2: **This story will be written in **Maki's Point of View…**

**Chapter 3 – The Rose Crusaders**

"Wow, this place is amazing," I gasped as Seto and I rode into the palace of England, currently taken over by Richard III and the Yorkist house, as well as the Rose Crusaders.

"I'm glad you like it," Seto said in reply to my comment.

"Welcome back, Rosenkreuz!" a woman said as she approached us. She was about 5'6" tall and she looked to be between 16 to 18 years old. She had pretty blue eyes and waist-long shiny black hair.

"Ishizu," Seto said and nodded in greeting.

"Ah, who is this?" the woman asked.

"The Rose Duelist," Seto answered with a smirk of pride, as if I was someone utterly famous.

"…As in 'The Legend of the Rose Duelist?'" she asked.

Seto nodded and the woman's eyes widened.

"So the legend is true! However, I never expected the Rose Duelist to be a young girl. Of course, youth should have nothing to do with it, seeing as how you are only fourteen and yet you are our leader, Rosenkreuz," she stated.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry. You must think I'm rude for not introducing myself to you. My name is Ishizu Ishtar. Yours, dear?" she asked as she shook my hand.

"Maki Kaichi," I replied.

"I'm going to take her to see Richard III and then we'll join you and the other Rose Crusaders," Seto stated matter-of-factly.

"Very well then," Ishizu said with a nod. With that, she left and Seto took me someplace else in the glorious palace.

He took me to what seemed to be the throne room and there I met Richard III. Seto bowed before speaking.

"Your Highness, I present to you the legendary Rose Duelist," Seto said articulately. I took this as some sort of signal and bowed as well.

Seto then turned to me and said, "This is our soon-to-be King, Richard III."

"The Rose Duelist, eh? I assume she's joined our side then?" Richard III asked.

Seto gave a swift nod in reply and Richard III smirked.

"Nice work, Rosenkreuz. You shall receive a nice reward for this. Now nothing will stand a chance against us," Richard said with a dry laugh that made me shudder.

Seto and I bowed once more and left the room. We made our way to another stunning room of the palace. There were seven other people in the room, including Ishizu. Seto cleared his throat to signal our presence and the seven people in the room turned to face us.

"Fellow Rose Crusaders! Meet Miss Maki Kaichi, the legendary Rose Duelist," Seto announced as he gestured to me.

"The Rose Duelist?" one of them said in disbelief.

"The legends are true?" another one asked.

"A girl?"

"She's on our side?"

"Hold all your questions for later. Why don't you all introduce yourselves first? After all, we _are_ in the presence of a legend and we don't want to appear rude, now do we?" Seto suggested. I blushed in embarrassment. I was not used to being flattered like this. I still had no clue what was going on. I did not understand the whole concept of being a legend. How could I be a legend if my only dueling experience involved a few rinky-dink hometown tournaments? My thoughts halted as one of the people spoke up.

(By the way, remember that this takes place three years in the past. Thus everyone is three years younger than usual. I'm making up the ages for Pegasus and Panik since no one really knows how old they are. Also, for those of you that have played the game, I had to change a few of the names. I never played on Yugi's side, so I don't know what the Rose Crusader's names really are. So, I'm just going to use the names from the American dub anime.)

"I'm honored to meet you Miss Kaichi. I'm Weevil Underwood. I'm thirteen years old and I specialize in insect type monsters," said a short boy with bowl-shaped blue-green hair and mischievous-looking blue eyes hidden under a pair of bug-like golden glasses. He cackled; the disturbing sound rang in my ears.

"My name is Rex Raptor. I'm twelve years old and I have a dinosaur based deck," said another short boy with brown hair, purple bangs, and mischievous-looking brown eyes.

A frightening towering man spoke up next. "Everyone calls me Panik. I'm twenty-seven and I specialize in dark-type monsters." He was practically twice the height of the previous two boys. He had dark blue hair and menacing-looking black eyes. I quickly turned to the next person in the room.

The next one was a really short boy, shorter than the others. He had spiky gray hair and a pair of gray eyes; he looked almost dead. "I'm Bonz. I'm twelve years old, making me the youngest one here, and I have a deck full of zombie monsters."

'_Hmm… These duelists seem to reflect their appearance in their duel decks…'_ I thought and turned to the next Rose Crusader. He was quite tall and he had bright blonde hair in short spikes and sharp blue eyes.

"My name is Keith Howard. Just call me Keith. I'm twenty-one and I specialize in machine type monsters," he said.

I gasped as I saw the next person. He looked exactly like Maximillian Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters back in my world. He had long silvery hair and golden eyes, although his hair covered his left eye. "My full name is Maximillian Pegasus J. Crawford, but most people know me as Lord Crawford and the members of our group here simply call me Pegasus. I'm twenty-four years old and my deck is full of toon monsters," he said.

"Well, you already know my name, miss," Ishizu said with a bow of her head. "I'm seventeen-years-old and I specialize in light type monsters." (Okay, I'm not 100 percent sure what Ishizu's deck is, so if anyone knows, let me know, okay? Thanks!)

So, Seto was _not_ the youngest member of the Rose Crusaders. Bonz was the youngest of the group. It surprised me how these people of varying ages could work together and form a team that was supposedly the ultimate fighting force of York house.

…

"Yakima, we should go home," my father urged my mother.

"No! Not until we find Maki!" my mother shouted, her eyes brimming with tears.

My parents had been wandering the streets of the city, searching for me along with the police. Mr. and Mrs. Shuka were doing the same.

"Yakima! Morosou!" Mrs. Shuka called out as she ran up to them

"Reiko! Ichiro! Did you find her yet?" my mother asked with a bit of hope.

Mrs. Shuka shook her head in dismay. She was also saddened by my sudden disappearance and had shed her own tears sometime during the search. Her soft pink cheeks were stained with dry tears now. "We're sorry Yakima. We just came back from the police department. They haven't had any luck either."

"They say we might have to continue the search for a few days," Mr. Shuka cut in. Another flow of tears escaped my mother's eyes and my father wrapped his arm tightly around her.

"We should all go home. It's quite late now and I'm sure we're all tired. We need some rest. We'll continue our search tomorrow, alright?" Mr. Shuka suggested. My mother continued crying but nodded her head.

"Would you feel any better if we slept over, Yakima?" Mrs. Shuka suggested.

My mother looked up, gave a slight smile, and answered, "I'd like that. Thank you."

Mrs. Shuka nodded with a gentle smile and took her husband's hand. "Come on Ichiro; let's go get our things and then we'll go to the Kaichi's." Mr. Shuka nodded and the two couples headed for home.

…

I gasped at the sight of the feast before my eyes. It was a bounty fit for kings! Of course, I should not have expected anything less. I _was_ in a royal palace after all. Therefore, it did make sense that we would all be eating like nobility.

_Clink clink_.

Seto gently tapped his spoon against his glass to receive everyone's attention and stood up. He was seated to the right of Richard III, who was at the head of the table. I sat on Seto's right, followed by Ishizu, Pegasus, Keith, Bonz, Panik, Rex, and finally Weevil.

"First, I'd like to offer a toast – to our soon-to-be-king and the rightful heir to the throne, Richard III," Seto announced and we all toasted to him. Richard III nodded and gestured for Seto to continue.

"My fellow Rose Crusaders today is a special day. It is a day that may have already decided the future of this kingdom. We are in the presence of a true legend," he said and gestured towards me. I blushed madly and stared down at my plate in embarrassment. Seto continued nonetheless. "I offer a toast to Miss Maki Kaichi, the Rose Duelist. May she guide us in our quest to obtain the Red Rose Cards and defeat the forces of Lancaster!" Seto exclaimed and the other Rose Crusaders and even Richard III raised their glasses to toast me. My face turned an even deeper shade of red, if that was possible, and I suddenly began concentrating on the rose pattern along the rim of my plate.

…

"How do you like your dinner, Miss Kaichi?" Ishizu asked.

"It's delicious, thank you," I replied with a slight smile. Ishizu smiled back.

"So, Miss Kaichi, I've been meaning to ask you, what type of monsters do you specialize in?" Pegasus asked and took a sip of his wine.

"My deck? Oh well… My monsters are mostly light types, like Ishizu's," I answered.

"How much dueling experience do you have?" Weevil inquired.

"Well I…" I did not know what to say. _'What _should_ I say? What would they say if I told them my major dueling experience involved some small city-wide tournaments and nothing more?'_

"Now she wouldn't be called the Rose Duelist if she didn't have any significant dueling experience now would she? Isn't that right Maki?" Seto interrupted and saved me from having to fumble for an answer, even if he was not aware of it. I smiled at him gratefully and nodded.

"How old are you Miss Kaichi, if you don't mind me asking?" Keith asked.

"I'm fourteen," I replied and took a bite of my dinner roll.

"Fourteen, eh? So you're the same age as Rosenkreuz here," Panik said.

"I guess so," I said and glanced over to look at Seto. He turned to me with a questioning look. I could not help but stare at those blue orbs of his. No one had ever caught my attention like this before. Is this what people called love at first sight? I thought so. I had no idea how wrong I was those three years ago.

"Something wrong?" Seto asked, causing me to break my eye contact with him.

"What? Oh, no, not at all," I said, stared back down at my plate, and took a bite of my chicken.

…

"So Miss Kaichi, are you really going to help us fight the Lancastrians?" Rex asked as all the Rose Crusaders entered their meeting room.

"I guess so," I mumbled as I took a seat to Seto's right as Ishizu gestured me to do.

Seto clapped his hands to have everyone's attention and they all settled down in their seats. "Alright everyone, let's talk about the Red Rose Cards. Simon mentioned that he spread the cards among certain individuals just after summoning Miss Kaichi. I think it's safe to assume that a large number of those individuals are his confederates currently located in France. Maki," he said and turned to face me, "I would like to ask you to enter France from Dover and retrieve those cards for our cause. I would go myself. However, I'm needed here to maintain our barrier against any invading forces."

'_Go to France? I guess I'll have to. It's not like I have any idea what's going on anyway…' _I nodded in reply. "Sure."

"Excellent. First I'd like to give you some special training. I assume you are not fully aware of the situation. Therefore, I'd like to prepare you for what may come in this war. That includes some self defense techniques, some historical studies, and I'd also like you to learn some French," Seto said.

"Alright," I said.

"Your training will begin tomorrow, then. Weevil, Bonz, and Rex will start with your basic training. Ishizu will help you with history, and Pegasus will teach you French. Once Weevil, Bonz, and Rex have taught everything they know, Panik and Keith will show you some advanced fighting techniques," Seto explained.

I nodded in reply and looked around the room. So, I would start my day with the three youngest boys of the group. Although they each appeared somewhat bizarre, I was not afraid of them. Ishizu, the only female member of the group, besides me, seemed very nice. I assumed I would not have a problem with her. Pegasus also seemed somewhat nice and he appeared to be the type of adult I would be able to communicate comfortably with.

Keith and Panik, however, were obviously much older, much taller, and much stronger than I was. Keith had a sort of mischievous aura to him. Panik made me feel uncomfortable altogether. I had no idea what to expect from them, but I was going to try my best to undergo whatever training they made me do.

I had to; I realized by then that I would have to actually go through with the whole war in order to return to my world. I would need special skills. I needed the physical and mental preparation to survive. I had to know any and all the secrets the Rose Crusaders had to offer me.

"Well then, that's all for tonight. You may all converse among yourselves now, but I expect you all to sleep early. We need to be well rested for tomorrow's events," Seto said, stood up from his chair, and walked away. I kept my eyes on him until he disappeared behind a nearby door.

"So Miss Kaichi, would you like to play a game of chess?" Weevil asked as he casually strolled up to me with a goofy-looking grin on his face.

"Err…" I hesitated. Chess was not really my game. I had played it quite a few times before, but as far as winning went, I could only defeat my dad. My more challenging games were against Mr. Shuka, but I would always lose.

"Hey! Wait a minute! You still owe me a game, Underwood!" Rex shouted from his seat as he stuck out his finger in some attempt to make his point.

"Ohh! You know he means business when he uses your last name, Weevil," Bonz said mockingly.

"Another one? I beat your sorry behind in the last four games!" Weevil retorted.

"Four? It was THREE!" Rex shouted.

Ishizu sighed. "You boys are impossible."

"First of all, it was two wins and secondly, you do owe him a game, Weevil," Pegasus pointed out as he stood up from his seat.

"Yeah, remember when you broke Rosenkreuz's sunset painting? Rex ended up being blamed for it. You clearly said you would give him fifty chess matches to make up for it," Keith added with a smirk.

"Aw man. How many do I still owe you?" Weevil asked Rex.

"Twenty-seven." Rex stated matter-of-factly.

"Twenty-seven?" Weevil asked disbelievingly as his eyes widened.

"Yes, twenty-seven!" Rex exclaimed.

The two boys started off on a full throttle argument. I felt out of place in the whole situation. I was a new member of the Rose Crusaders. I did not have any special bonds with any of them; not that I wanted any. However, I was alone in this world and I felt very uncomfortable about it.

Suddenly, someone tapped my shoulder. I jumped a little in surprise and turned to see Pegasus standing behind me with a smile on his face.

"Those two will be at it for hours. How would you like a tour of the castle? It's much better than sitting here listening to those two bicker about petty things," he suggested.

"Sure. Thank you," I said in response.

He smiled and held out his arm the way gentlemen in the olden times did when they escorted ladies. (Just think - "Titanic.") I looped my arm around his and he escorted me out of the meeting room.

…

"…and this is our physical training room." Pegasus said as he led me into a large open room with some sort of training equipment piled neatly in a corner of the room.

"So… I'll be training here tomorrow?" I asked.

"With Rex, Weevil, and Bonz, yes," the silver-haired man answered.

"I see."

"Come, I'll show you the library," he said as he gently tugged my arm and led me out of the room.

"Oh, there you two are," a voice from behind us uttered.

We turned to see the speaker – Ishizu.

"Pegasus, Panik was looking for you," she stated firmly.

"Ah. I was just giving Miss Kaichi a tour of the castle," he responded.

"I can show her the rest," Ishizu said.

"Alright," Pegasus said. "Well, Miss Kaichi, this is where I take my leave. Forgive me for leaving you in the middle of our tour," he said as he removed his arm from mine.

"No, it's fine," I replied.

"Very well. I'll see you tomorrow Miss Kaichi," Pegasus said with a bow and walked away.

"So, do you know where you were headed next, Miss Kaichi?" Ishizu asked as she turned to me, her black hair flowing with her.

"We were just about to see the library," I replied.

"Follow me then," Ishizu said and I followed her to another room in the castle.

…

"So where do you guys think she is?" Sujiro asked as he plopped down on the Takinawa's couch.

"She probably planned the whole and ran away so she wouldn't have to duel me," Rick said egotistically and dropped some popcorn into his mouth.

"That's impossible, Rick. She couldn't have disappeared in a second. _Someone_ would have seen her, and as far as I heard, the police couldn't find a single person who saw her exit the building. Besides, no offense big bro, but she can kick your butt, so running away from the duel is out of the question," Crystal commented with a reproachful expression.

"Whose side are you on anyway?" Rick snapped.

Crystal shrugged and took a handful of Rick's popcorn.

"Hey!" he shouted.

"No seriously, where do you think she is?" Sujiro repeated.

"Don't know, don't care. Why do you care all of a sudden?" Rick asked.

"I don't. I just don't think it's fair that you get to win on a technicality. Besides, without her around, who are we going to pick on?" Sujiro replied suggestively.

Rick laughed loudly. "Ha, you got that right! I hope they find her. Then I can rub my victory in her face."

Crystal sighed. "Rick you can be so pathetic sometimes."

…

"Here we are, Miss Kaichi. This is the library," Ishizu said as she opened a large door that led to a very large library. "Oh! Excuse us Rosenkreuz, we had no idea you were here. I was just showing Miss Kaichi the library," she quickly apologized as she realized that we weren't the only ones in the room.

"It's alright," he replied without taking his eyes off the book he was reading.

"Miss Kaichi, here is where you'll be taking your history lessons. I'm not much of a teacher, but I will try my best to teach you everything you need to know," Ishizu explained as she gestured around the library.

It was absolutely wonderful. Every wall had a bookshelves filled with thousands of books. There were two glorious oversized windows at the opposite side of the room. A large desk was in the center of the room. Seto was sitting there, carefully studying a thick book. There were three other books stacked up next to the book he was reading, but other than that, the library was completely neat and tidy.

I took a look around. The books on the shelves varied in sizes and topics. There were reference books, hundreds of history books, hundreds of literature books, many language books, and books of other topics as well.

'_Wow… This place is magnificent… They don't have anything nearly as amazing back home…'_

The sound of a slamming book broke me from my reverie and I turned to see Seto standing up and putting his books away.

"It's quite late. We should get to bed. Goodnight, Ishizu. I'll take care of Miss Kaichi now," Seto said as we walked up to us.

"Goodnight Rosenkreuz. Goodnight Miss Kaichi," Ishizu said with a bow and walked away.

"I'll show you to your room," Seto said. I nodded and followed him.

…

"Here we are. This will be your sleeping chamber for the duration of your training. Once you have completed your training you will begin your travel to France," Seto said as he led me into an empty room. I stepped in and gasped as I took in the sight.

The furniture was a beautiful hand carved mahogany. The bed sheets were made of white silk. A large window opened out to a balcony looking out onto a magnificent sky dotted with stars as if they were freckles.

"Rosenkreuz, it's wonderful!" I exclaimed in an almost breathless whisper.

He must have heard me, for he chuckled. "Only the best for our honored guest. Well, third best if you count Richard III's room and my room of course."

"I love it! Thank you," I said as I turned back around to face him. Our eyes met and once again I was mesmerized by the beautiful blue orbs.

"Well, good night Miss Kaichi," he said, breaking our eye contact.

"Please, call me Maki."

"Good night… Maki." He took my hand and kissed it, causing a blush to form on my cheeks.

"Good night, Rosenkreuz."

**TBC…**

Well, I think that was a nice ending for a chapter. Not exactly a cliffhanger, so I guess it should not kill you. Anyways… I can't guarantee an update on "The Rose Duelist" anytime soon. I need to start working on the "New Years" special for "Life At My House." Which reminds me… **Attention all Life At My House fans!** I will not post the next chapter or "Life At My House" until I finish my "New Years" special. Also, I am going to post the "New Years" series as part of "A Life At My House Christmas," NOT as part of "Life At My House." So, add "A Life At My House Christmas" to your favorites and/or alert lists if you want a heads up when I update. Thanks! Ja-ne!


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